I am utterly ignorant of current DC storylines, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. But I just saw the announcement that the new GL will be an Arab (which is cool), along with this image:
You're wielding one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. So why do you need a gun? Did I fall asleep and it's 1995 again?
Yeah, I’ve been curious about that myself. Since I haven’t been reading current Green Lantern (stupid reprint book that isn’t monthly and took months to print GL #1), I have no clue what this is about. The last time I checked on this on Newsarama, they seemed just as clueless as me.
Sorry, that wasn’t helpful was it?
WTF? Been following GL, but hasn’t read this yet.
Same thought as you:
– Arab GL? Great!!!
– GL with a gun? X-treme dark nonsense!
Maybe he packs it in case he runs out of lantern energy? So he’s not totally defenseless? I don’t know, that’s all I could come up with. Hopefully McKnight57 will chime in and will know what’s up with it.
Maybe he needs it for yellow things?
Hey what’s next they take away Superman’s old powers and give him a blue onesy, oh wait…
Maybe he murders someone like aquaman did firsthand;)
Maybe he’s imitating Batman….with a luchadore mask
Hmm… DC portrays one of their new Middle-Eastern characters pointing a gun in our faces… It’s a good thing the publisher is shying away from negative stereotypes, no? /sarcasm
Could be worse; could be using his ring to make a bomb jacket and detonator. Or maybe they’re saving that until the finale.
BTW, for the most powerful weapon in the universe, when you see the rings efficiency in the various series, you’re left wondering at times…
Just in case he fights a giant Lego Man!
Staying with the subject of the New 52, but diverting it a little, did anyone see the news that Liefeld left DC? (In my head I heard the sound of people rejoicing all over the world when I read it)
The gun is in case he gets caught stealing and the Mullahs cut off his ring hand.
Maybe this character had been created by one of my seasoned roleplayers [Seasoned: one that start to play and read comics into the ’90th… =_=] …wait… if he had also a drammatic background of depression and death, I can confirm was created by one of my roleplayers… =_= [Deprex Polemical Master Mode: ON]
I just figured that more complicated constructs make the ring’s charge run out quicker. If you only use your ring to make swords or giant fists, your charge lasts the full 24 hours. But if you keep making full replicas of F-15s, giant squid monsters, and dragons made of candy-canes that breathe maple syrup, you keep having to recharge every 8 hours!
It’s like when you’re driving a car. The faster you drive, the more fuel you burn, the more gas-stops you end up making.
Yes, Jeff, it IS my turn to chime in. I’ve been looking for answers since Jim Lee’s first sketch of the guy. He still has no name, but we WILL get a look into it with Green Lantern #0 (art of DC’s company-wide #0 issues next month) and in Justice League #13 due in October. They’ve been pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing for the last few months. Sorry I wasn’t more help.
Frankly, my guess is that he’s part of the Guardians’ THIRD ARMY that they’ve been teasing for the last 3 months. Oddly enough, that’s about the time that this guy started showing up. From the look of things, he may (and this is just speculation) be taking Kyle Rayner’s place as an Earth GL.
The weirdest thing to me is that if you look closely, you can see little stars in his uniform. Um, extreeeeeeeme?
Is this Bad costume day mark 2? Honestly, the guy looks like they Amalgamed Kick a*s, Gl, and an Arab. Oh, and it looks like not just a gun, but a set of brass knuckles too!
The costume doesn’t really bother me so much, it’s just the gun. And maybe they have a good reason for it, but I’m having a hard time imagining what it might be. They gave Superman armor after all, and he’s the most invulnerable guy in the DC Universe. Given that, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised GL has a pistol.
His name is “Baz”. I guess short for “bad ass” and he is “Arab-American” according to the comic gossip.
This is ridiculous.
Couldn’t he have just been arab, period? This reminds me of Storm and the other x-men being something-american.
Well… 🙄
@William: Yes, but I was more concerned with an issue of raw power. THere are a few times when they are extremely powerful, like “able to destroy a planet” and other times when they prove barely efficient against what amounts to goons with blasters.
IMO, a better name for them would be “The universe’s most versatile tool” 😉
Which X-men? Storm is Kenyan, born in New York and raised in Cairo. So technically she’s American I guess but she did grow up in Africa. The rest of the international X-men from the classic Giant Size issue were pretty much not American (with the exception of Thunderbird for obvious reasons)
Yes, he is and technically if we’re counting Alan Scott from when he was part of the Earth-0 DCU and the bit of time that his daughter was a Green Lantern, (thanks to Kyle) then Baz is actually the 7th American Green Lantern. Well, Green Lantern from America. Until Geoff Johns (who apparently identifies as Lebanese) makes his speech next month, we really don’t have any further knowledge of who Baz is or WHY IN THE HOLY HELL WITH A DANCING UNICORN he carries a gun, wears a mask or has only one name to identify with like freakin’ Madonna?! . . . . . . . . . . Okay. I’m good now. Just had to vent there. Seriously, folks. I really don’t have much more info than you do. My contacts in the industry don’t know or can’t say anything.
Actually, her father is american 😉
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_(Marvel_Comics)#Backstory
It may be my (admittedly bad) memory at work here, but I seem to recall a lot of characters following this pattern. While I find it pretty normal for american characters to be, well, american, I find it bad for characters supposed to be “from earth”, as it stretches my suspension of disbelief a little too much.
Aw. It’s simple then. Storm’s a New Yorker and a US Citizen with Kenyan ancestry who was orphaned and grew up in Cairo and later became a Kenyan tribal princess only to end up an ex-Wakandan sovereign. Very clear background for her 😉
As for the singular name ‘Baz’, depending on what country he’s from and even what ethnic group within that country he pertains to, he may not have a last name. Certain peoples from that part of the world traditionally do not keep surnames. Although if he is indeed Arab-American I’m assuming he’d have to have one for legal purposes, for which a lot of those aforementioned people adopt one. I feel like maybe the character was developed one way, but they decided to tack on the ‘American’ and didn’t bother with the name. These are of course assumptions, but what are fanboys good at if not assumptions and wild accusations? 😀
It’s a nice try, but when Hal created 10,00 green monkeys to search the city (also showing that he didn’t NEED to be Batman to make a Detective work roll!), it didn’t shorten his poerating time one bit…
You happen to be correct. There is nothing in canon that states how efficient the rings are based on their use. The general rule is to recharge every 24 hours, but then there are times when that window gets quite a bit smaller. If only Geoff Johns could deliver an absolute timetable based on use of the rings. Life would get a little bit simpler for us geeks.
“Baz” In translation is Arabic for Falcon
Baz will actually be on the new Justice League of America, along with Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, Hawkman and Green Arrow. Did OI mention Catwoman?! It will be written by none other than Geoff Johns. Is it just me or is that guy everywhere now? http://www.newsarama.com/comics/new-justice-league-of-america.html
That’s okay if Geoff Jones writes everything. He’s a good writer who keeps continuity with his stories.
…..he’s an Arab-American wearing fingerless gloves, a ski mask and packing heat. And he gets beaten up by the Justice League on a cover.
Geez, DC.
Just be happy he didn’t get beaten up by the Gotham TSA or Metropolis’ SCU (Special Crimes Unit).
Did anyone suggest he made that gun from the ring-light? I mean, it isn’t that particular shade of green, but who knows?